Removable wall covering and fastening means therefor



Nov. 17, 1942. H. HASENBURGER ETAL ,302,

REMOVABLE WALL COVERING AND FASTENING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Mg; l, 1940 I5 SfieerLs-Sheet l F1G-l- HENRY HASENBURGER HARVEY WILEY CORBETT Nov. .17, 1942. H. VHASENBURGER El AL 2,302,547

REMOVABLE WALL COVERING AND FASTENING MEANS THEREFOR Filed Au 1, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 HENRY HASENBURGER HARVEYWI LEY CORBETT Nov. 17, 1942. H. HASENBURGER ErAL 2,302,547

REMOVABLE WALL COVERING AND FASTENING MEANS THERE FOR Filed Aug. 1, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Z! HENRY HASENDURG HARVEY WILEY CORBETT Patented Nov. 17, 1942 REMOVABLE WALL COVERING AND FASTENING MEANS THEREFOR Henry Hasenburger, Newark, N. J., and Harvey Wiley Corbett, New York, N. Y., assignors to Prebilt Housing Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Ohio Application August 1, 1940, Serial N0. 349,341

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved decorative covering for room walls and the provision of improved means for removably connecting such covering to associated building walls.

Decorative room wall papers and fabrics are usually secured to the walls through the employment of adhesives. When the covering becomes soiled, discolored or worn, it is accepted practice to remove the same from the walls by steaming or scraping. These operations are slow, tedious and expensive but, as is well known, have been practiced for years in the decoration and finishing of room walls.

It is an object of the present invention to simplify, render less costly and accelerate the operations of applying decorative wall covers to or removing the same from associated building walls, so that such operations may be performed quickly and accurately and without involving the services of skilled artisans.

Another object resides in the provision of a wall covering wherein the marginal edges of the covering are provided with longitudinally continuous slide-type fasteners, which are detachably joined with complemental fasteners carried in connection with stationary members of the wall construction, the slide fasteners enabling the wall covering to be very quickly attached to or detached from the complemental securing means.

A further object rests in the provision of means for use in combination with said wall covering and fasteners, whereby the covering is maintained in a stretched and taut condition on the walls of the room, so that the appearance of conventional wall coverings of an adhesively secured nature will b closely simulated.

Still another object of the invention resides in the provision of an improved detachable molding carried by the room walls and which molding is so formed and positioned as to conceal, when operatively applied, the marginal portions of the wall covering and the associated fastening means for the latter.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the interior of a room to the walls of which the covering, forming the present invention, is shown as applied;

Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective view of the wall covering and its associated fastening means;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a building wall having the improved wall covering thereon;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line IV-IV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View taken through the corner of a room on the plane indicated by the line V-V of Fig, 1;

Fig. 6 is a similar view on the line VIVI of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral l designates, in general, a vertical wall of a building room, the numeral 2 the ceiling construction, and the numeral 3 the floor construction. The wall I may comprise a plurality of spaced vertically extending studs 4, secured in their operative positions. To the room facing surfaces of the studs 4, there is suitably secured one or more vertically extending wall forming panels 5, which panels have their upper and lower edges terminated in spaced relation from the ceiling and floor construction, as best shown in Fig. 4. The panels 5 may be formed from materials, such, for example, as laminated wood or various pressed or molded compositions.

The upper longitudinal edge of the panel 5 is formed with a longitudinally extending groove or channel, in which is received the vertical leg 6 of a sheet metal fastening plate, the latter terminating, above the upper edge of the panel 5, in a hook-shaped extension 1. Detachably engageable with the extension I is the correspondingly formed longitudinal edge portion of a metallic strip 8, the latter having formed therewith a fabric or other flexible flap 9. Secured to the outer edge of the flap 9 and longitudinally coextensive therewith is one set of coupling hooks l0 of a slide-type fastener.

A sheet of wall covering II is adapted to be tautly applied over and in close engagement with the outer vertical wall surface of the panel 5. This covering may be of any desired flexible form, suitably decorated to produce a desired wall finish of decorative appearance. Usually, the sheet II is formed from a woven fabric, which, if desired, may bear a linoleum or other water repellant surface finish. The sheet may, of course, be formed from a fairly heavy grade of paper, providing its longitudinal edges are suitably reenforced. In the form of the invention illustrated, the upper longitudinal edge of the sheet carries a row of coupling hooks l2, which are complemental to the hooks l0 and adapted to interfit therewith by the action of the conventional slide member [3. By this construction, it will be seen that the upper edge portions of the wall covering sheet Il may be quickly, securely and substantially instantaneously fastened to the wall carried elements 6 and 7.

A similar construction is employed in uniting the lower longitudinal edge portion of the sheet II to stationary parts of the building. Thus, as best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4, the lower edge of the sheet H has secured thereto a longitudinally extending row of coupling hooks M, which mate with a similar row of coupling hooks l secured to a flexible fabric flap IS. The hooks l4 and I5 are united or disconnected by a conventional slide member a. The opposite edge of this flap 16 carries metallic hook-shaped extensions l'l, the latter being detachably engage with corresponding extensions I8 provided on a sheet metal bar I9. Engaged with openings formed in the lower edge of the bar I 9 are the hooked upper ends 20 of a plurality of coil springs 2|, the lower ends of said springs being provided with eyes 22 which are received around the protruding ends of pins 23, the latter passing transversely through openings formed in adjacent pairs of floor joists 24. The springs 2! serve to draw the wall covering dowwardly, exert-ing a stretching force thereon which maintains the covering in fiat taut engagement with the outer surfaces of the wall panels 5.

To conceal the fastening means at the lower portion of the wall covering sheet, as well as to close the gap between the lower portions of the panels and the floor construction 3, baseboards 25 be used. Likewise, the fastening appliances at the upper edge of the wall covering sheet are concealed by a molding 2'3, which bridges the gap between the upper portions of the panels 5 and the ceiling construction 2. Each of these moldings may be provided with a securing rib 2'5, which is detachably receivable between a pair of resilient arms 28 formed with molding securing brackets 28, the latter being 5, vertical molding strips 32 are used to cover and clamp the vertical. edge portions of the covering sheets i l, Each of the molding strips includes an inwardly directed rib having reversely inclined surfaces B l. These surfaces are engaged by the outer ends of a pair of leaf springs These springs act to securely maintain the strips 32 in their operative positions, as disclosed in Figs. 1. and 5, and yet permit the removal of said strips whenever desired.

In Fig. 6, a door frame is indicated by the numeral El. The outer surface of the door frame is rabbeted as at 38 for the reception of removable facing strips 89. The inner faces of each of these strips are provided with one or more spring clips These clips cooperate with the edges of the panels 5 around the door opening and with the wall covering ii disposed thereon, to resiliently clamp such covering and hold it secure against accidental displacement.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a novel and effective for facilitating the operation of applying wall covering sheets to room walls. The invention eliminates the necessity for adhesivefield of use, however, in connection with so-called pie-built houses.

1y securing rolls of wall paper or fabrics to room to employ such ValliltiOIlS and modifications that fall within the scope of the following claims,

We claim:

1. In building construction, a frame, a wallforming panel secured to said frame, a decorative cover for said panel comprising a flexible sheet, a row of sli e fastener coupling hooks de tachably carried by one of the longitudinal edges of said panel, a similar row of slide fastener coupling hooks carried by the adjoining longitudinal edge of said sheet, a slide member for uniting said rows of hooks, and spring means joined with the opposite longitudinal edge of said sheet and with said frame for maintaining said sheet in a drawn and taut condition over said panel.

2. A decorative wall covering for room walls comprising a flexible sheet of material, a mechanical slide fastener coextensive with at least one of the longitudinal edges of said sheet for uniting the latter with a stationary member of an associated building, said fastener being of the type having complemental rows of interengaging hooks and a slidable member for coupling and uncoupling said hooks, and spring means cooperative with said sheet for maintaining the same in a flat taut condition when operatively applied on a room wall.

In building construction, a frame, a wallforming panel, a decorative covering for said panel consisting of a sheet of flexible material, mechanical slide fasteners joined with the upper and lower longitudinal edges of said sheet for detachably unitin the same with said panel and frame, said fasteners being of the type having complemental rows of interengaging hooks and a slidable member cooperative with the hooks for coupling and uncoupling the same, spring means for maintaining said sheet in a flat taut condition over said panel, and molding devices detachably carried by said frame for concealing said slide fasteners and frictionally clamping the edges of said sheet in engagement with said panel.

a. Means for decorating walls of a room comprising a sheet of flexible material having openings for registration with windows and doors, mechanical slide fastener means secured to opposite edges of said sheet, said means being of the type comprising a row of closely related hooks, complemental slide fastener means of the same type formed for attachment to the room walls, means for connecting the fasteners on the sheet with those on the wall, and means for securing and covering th edges of the window and door openings in said sheet.

5. Means for decorating walls of a room comprising a sheet of flexible material having openings for registration with windows and doors. mechanical slide fastener means secured to opposite edges of said sheet, said means being of the type comprising a row of closely related hooks, complemental slide fastener means of the same type formed for attachment to the room fastener hooks carried by each of the upper and lower longitudinal edges of said sheet, a row of complemental slide fastener hooks carried in con nection with an adjacent wall structure for engagement with each row of said first-named hooks, and a sliding member cooperative with each oomplemental row of hooks for coupling and uncoupling the same.

HENRY HASENBURGER. HARVEY WILEY CORBETT. 

